There are several known ball tee devices. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,318, issued July 21, 1987 to William C. Lay for a ball hitting practice device. The Lay patent comprises an upright column consisting of several different components in the form of solid bars, springs, and tubes. As the design in such a tee is relatively complex and the tee is basically rigid, it cannot absorb energy evenly at the point of impact. Such uneven energy absorption renders this ball tee susceptible to individual component damage, requiring frequent replacement of parts and resulting in high replacement costs. Also, the device itself is expensive to manufacture.
Though the Lay device does provide for height adjustment by means of a locking collar, the external location of this locking collar exposes it to impact and consequent damage, i.e. it would be difficult to adjust the Lay device for height once the locking collar was damaged.